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Haiku in English

The First Hundred Years
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( 414 ratings, 77 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Haiku in English is an anthology featuring over 800 poems originally written in English by more than 200 poets worldwide. It traces the evolution of Anglophone haiku over the past century, with historical context and literary insights. The collection includes works from Ezra Pound's pioneering haiku to those by celebrated poets like John Wills, Marlene Mountain, and Seamus Heaney, showcasing a broad range of styles and experiments within the form.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$3399
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers interested in poetry, especially those curious about haiku's adaptation in English. It also appeals to students and scholars of contemporary poetry and cross-cultural literary forms.

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The first anthology to map the full range of haiku in the English tradition.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Haiku in English is an anthology of more than 800 brilliantly chosen poems originally written in English by over 200 poets from around the world. Although haiku originated as a Japanese art form, it has found a welcome home in the English-speaking world. This collection tells the story of Anglophone haiku for the first time, charting its evolution over the last one hundred years and placing it within its historical and literary context. It features an engaging introduction by former U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins and an insightful historical overview by leading haiku poet, editor, and publisher Jim Kacian.

The selections range from the first fully realised haiku in English, Ezra Pound's "In a Station of the Metro," to plentiful examples by haiku virtuosos such as John Wills, Marlene Mountain, Nick Virgilio, and Raymond Roseliep, as well as investigations into the genre by eminent poets like John Ashbery, Allen Ginsberg, and Seamus Heaney. The editors explore the genre's changing forms and themes, highlighting its vitality and its breadth of poetic styles and content.

Among the many poems on offer are organic form experiments by E. E. Cummings and Michael McClure, evocations of black culture by Richard Wright and Sonia Sanchez, and the seminal efforts of Jack Kerouac.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Praised as "a large, revealing anthology," this collection demonstrates that the brief haiku form thrives in English poetry. Critics have highlighted its rich variety, with poems that are poignant, flippant, and experimental. It is recognised for maintaining the essence of haiku across languages and cultures.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780393348873

Publisher: WW Norton & Co

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 25 January 2016

Country: United States

Imprint: WW Norton & Co

Contributors:

  • General editor Jim Kacian
  • Edited by Philip Rowland
  • Edited by Allan Burns
  • Introduction by Billy Collins
  • Introduction by Billy Collins
  • Introduction by Billy Collins

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 28.0mm

Width: 127.0mm

Height: 183.0mm

Weight: 275g

Pages: 464

About the Author

Jim Kacian is the founder of the Haiku Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to archiving and promoting haiku in English, and of Red Moon Press, the largest non-Japanese publisher of haiku-related books. He lives in Winchester, Virginia. Philip Rowland teaches literature at Tamagawa University in Tokyo, where he lives, and is founder and editor of NOON: Journal of the Short Poem. Allan Burns is a professional editor who compiled the haiku anthology Montage: The Book. He lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Billy Collins was the Poet Laureate of the United States and the State of New York. He is a Distinguished Professor at Lehman College and a Senior Distinguished Fellow of the Winter Park Institute. A Literary Lion of the New York Public Library and author of many collections of poetry, including Bright Wings: An Illustrated Anthology of Poems About Birds and Horoscopes for the Dead, he lives in Westchester, New York.

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